Es Carnatge

Es Carnatge isn't a towel-and-beach-bar kind of beach but the last undeveloped stretch of shore on the Bay of Palma: nearly a kilometre of low rock, little coves of shell sand and scrub between Coll d'en Rabassa and Ca'n Pastilla, about five kilometres from the centre. The coastal path linking Palma with Platja de Palma runs right through it, with a cycle lane, benches, shaded wooden lookouts and ground-level lights at night. Locals come to run, skate and above all to give the dog a swim: it's one of the few beaches on the island where dogs can be off the lead and in the water. Its other claim to fame is the planes: it sits under the approach path to Son Sant Joan and they come in so low that some people turn up just to watch them land, sunset behind. There's history too: the name comes from the Carnatge houses where, from the late 19th century until 1959, dead working animals were rendered down; they stand in ruins alongside gun emplacements, trenches, sandstone quarries and a fossil site with remains of Myotragus, and Cala Pudent piles up the posidonia that gives it its name. The downsides: the shore is rocky, in winter and after easterly winds it fills with seaweed that smells, there's sometimes litter, no shade, and in summer the aircraft noise wears thin. One for walks, runs and dogs; not for a classic beach day.

Reviewed in November 2026